Portrayal Analysis Of Pantene's 'Not Sorry'

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Pantene’s ad entitled “Not Sorry” stands out amongst other advertisements because it employs both verbal and nonverbal forms of communication in order to convey a message that goes beyond selling their brand. The ad strives to empower females and encourage a pivotal change in an unacceptable aspect of societal behavior. It opens with a question: “Why are women always apologizing?” The words are in a bold, black font with a white background. The simplicity of their appearance draws the audience’s attention. The graphics are direct and unadorned, speaking directly to the message and motivation behind the ad. It is an engaging question, one that gets at the heart of a prominent societal issue: what is the role of women and how is it different …show more content…

But, the montage of diverse women in different environments quickly makes its point. Each of them is saying “sorry” to male figures: co-workers, husbands, bosses, even strangers. The issue is that none of the women are shown doing anything deserving of an apology. Despite this, it appears to be their immediate, automatic response. Then, a major metamorphosis occurs with the women in the video, and suddenly, they are no longer saying “sorry”; instead, they say “sorry, not sorry”. Ultimately, Pantene desires to promote a change through showing viewers a better, altered reality from that of our own, where women are not merely compliant, but are strong, courageous and assertive in their everyday lives. After the first portion of the video, the words “Don’t Be Sorry” appear on the screen in the same minimalistic font as the …show more content…

More people are utilizing different mediums, such as social networking, in order to speak out against the oppression and misrepresentation of women in social and professional environments. Pantene displays the hashtag “#ShineStrong” at the end of the commercial, which is a highly effective way of expanding the ad into other mediums of mass media. Through expansion, viewers will be more likely to not only talk about the effectiveness of Pantene’s ad, but also raise awareness about the issues surrounding women on their personal social networking pages. Pantene’s ad offers a message of empowerment to all women and encourages them to stop succumbing to the idea that male dominance is acceptable. By incorporating a greater purpose into the ad, it creates a “halo effect” on the brand. Companies do this in hopes that, if executed properly, the brand will be associated with a good message, giving them a greater appeal to buyers when compared with other brands. Aside from its empowering message, the ad also has comedic aspects, which makes it appealing to a wider range of viewers. To some degree, the ad is successful because it provides encouragement to women and creates a strong message; at the same time, the clip fails to advertise the actual

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